Beah-sortistg machine



H. FOGELSONGER'. BEAN SORTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3|.1916.

Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

VE-NTEIR fi d/rdd flamw by ATTURNEYE.

H. FOGELSONGER.

BEAN SORTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-31. 191a.

Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co, WASHINGTON, D. C

*UNTTE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD EQGELSONGER, 0E CLARENCE, NEW YORK.

BEAN-SORTING MACHINE.

LSGEPAQL Application filed August 3i, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD FoonLsoNenn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clarence, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Beanfiorting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for picking or sorting beans and the like, and has for its object to provide a machine of this character which is simple and durable in construction, and one in which the beans are separated from foreign substances in an effective and expeditious manner.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an eliicient driving mechanism for running the working parts of the machine.

Tn the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 1S a fragmentary central longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, of the front portion of the machine. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the hopper and feed wheel. Fig. 4 is a fragn'ientary perspective view of a portion of the driving mechanism. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the rear portion of the machine. Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 66, Fig. 1, showing the discharge chute. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the feed wheel and the ratchet mechanism between the same and the driving mechanism.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The framework upon which the working parts of the machine are supported coinprises a front support or table 1 supported by legs 2, which are suitably braced by the cross bars 3 and a rear support a vertically adjustable on the supporting leg 5.

Mounted upon the upper portion of the rear frame member is a hopper 6, for containing the beans or other material to be picked or sorted, from the bottom of which depends a spout or chute '7 of smaller cross section than the hopper so as to be capable of holdingonly a relatively small number of beans. Adjacent to the mouth of this spout is a rotatable feed wheel 8 mounted on asuitable arbor or spindle 9 which is jourhailed stationary bearings 10. This feed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Serial No. 117,355.

wheel is provided in its periphery with a plurality of circumferentially spaced pockets 11 which receive the beans from the mouth of the spout 7. From the pockets of the feed wheel the beans are discharged onto an inclined endless upper conveyer belt 12 passing over front and rear rollers or pulleys 13, 14 mounted on the shafts 15, 16, respectively, which are journaled in suitable bearings on the main frame. The inclined separating belt 12 is driven so that its upper inclined operative stretch travels upwardly in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, so that any foreign substances such as straw, dirt, rough pebbles and fiat and broken beans will be carried upwardly with this belt and be deposited in a suitable receptacle for this purpose, such, for instance, as a drawer 17 arranged below the rear portion of said belt, while the perfect beans, having smooth eX- terior surfaces roll down the inclined belt by gravity onto the upper horizontal operative stretch of a front hand picking belt 18 which travels forwardly and at a somewhat slower speed than that of the inclined rear belt. This horizontal conveyer belt passes over front and rear rollers or pulleys 19, 20 mounted on the shafts 21, 22, respec tively, which are journaled in suitable bearings on the main frame.

Arranged on either side of the horizontal belt 18 and in the table 1 are openings 23 which communicate with drawers 24: located in the opposite sides of the table. These drawers serve as suitable receptacles for receiving the discolored .or otherwise deformed beans, which the operator rejects and by hand picks them from the horizontal belt and deposits the same into the drawers. By having the openings and drawers located on opposite sides of the belt, it is possible for the operator to utilize both hands in sorting the good beans from the discolored ones, and thereby accomplish this separation quickly and expeditiously. As the beans pass forwardly over the horizontal belt, after being thoroughly sorted by the operator, they are discharged from the front end of the front belt into an inclined chute or passage 25 which leads from an opening in the underside of the table 1 to a suitable receptacle 26 arranged below the mouth of this chute. As shown in the drawings, this receptacle 1s preferably in the formof sex which is secured to the legs 2 of the front portion of the frame.

The mechanism for propelling the conveyer belts and feed wheel is preferably constructed as follows:

27 represents the main or driving shaft journaled in suitable bearings in the front portion of the framework of the machine directly under the table 1, and provided substantially centrally thereof with a crank 28 operatively connected with the actuating pedal 29 by a link 30. This pedal is pivotally mounted upon a cross rod 31 and can be actuated in the customary manner so as to cause the rotation of the driving shaft. The feed wheel 8 is driven directly from the driving shaft through the medium of the belt 32 passing over a comparatively small pulley or wheel 33 secured to the driving shaft and over a larger pulley or wheel 3-1 mounted on the arbor 9 to permit the feed wheel to rotate at a correspondingly slower speed than that of the driving shaft. The horizontal conveyor belt driven from the driving shaft by a belt 35 preferably of the chain type passing over a sprocket wheel 36 secured to said shaft and over sprocket wheel 37 mounted on the roller shaft 21, said lastanentioned sprocket wheel being of larger diameter than the driving sprocket so as to produce a correspondingly slower speed of the belt 18. Mounted on the opposite end of the shaft 21 is a spur gear or wheel 38 which meshes with a smaller gear or pinion 39 mounted. on the front roller shaft 15 of the inclined belt 12, and thereby causes the latter to move at a faster speed than that of the horizontal belt and also in the opposite direction thereto. A fly wheel 10 may be mounted on the driving shaft 27 to secure uniform rotation thereof. By thus running the upper operative stretch of the inclined belt backwardly faster than the upper operative stretch of the horizontal belt is run forwardly the flat beans resting on the inclined belt are disposed of quicker and do not interfere with the free flow of good beans onto the horizontal belt but the latter is run sufficicntly slow to permit the attendant to pick out the discolored beans from the other ones.

In order to prevent backward rotation of the feed wheel 3 caused by a reverse movement of the actuating pedal, the former is provided on its inner face with a ratchet wheel 41 which is engaged by a dog or pawl 42 mounted in the adjacent bearing 10.

If desired, the inclination of the belts may be varied by the vertical adjustment of the rear support 4 on the leg 5 by loosening the thumb-nut 43, which is adapted to enter an opening in the support and a vertical slot in the leg.

This machine permits of picking or sorting beans and the like in an expeditious manner by separating the perfect beans from the foreign substances such as heretofore described, and requires but one operation for effecting the separation of the good beans from the bad or imperfect ones,

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bean sorting machine, the combination of a feeding device for supplying the beans to be sorted, a separating belt having an upper forwardly inclined operative stretch which has its rear end arranged below said feed device to receive the beans therefrom, a picking belt having an upper horizontal operative stretch the rear part of which receives the beans from the front pa t of said separating belt and upon which the beans are sorted by the operators, the operative stretch of said separating belt moving rapidly rearwardly for carrying any fiat material or broken beans over the upper rear turn thereof, the space above the same being wholly unobstructed to permit free passage of the beans.

In a bean sorting machine, the combination of a feeding device for supplying the beans to be sorted, a separating belt having an upper forwardly inclined operative stretch which has its rear end arranged below said feed device to receive the beans therefrom, a picking belt having an upper horizontal operative stretch the rear part of which receives the beans from the front part of said separating belt and upon which the beans are sorted by the operators, the operative stretch of said separating belt moving rapidly rearwa-rdly for carrying any flat material or broken beans over the up per rear turn thereof, the space above the same being wholly unobstructed to permit free passage of the beans, and the operative stretch of said picking belt moving forwardly at a slower rate of speed than said separating belt to permit the operative-s to sort the beans thereon.

HOWARD FOGELSGNGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

